RFID reader integrated with wireless communication device

ABSTRACT

An integrated RFID reader and wireless communication device is realized by a radio frequency (RF) front end operable, in a first mode, to generate a radio frequency identification system (RFID) outbound radio frequency (RF) signal, to receive an RFID inbound RF signal responsive to the RFID outbound RF signal and to convert the RFID inbound RF signal to an RFID near baseband signal, and operable in a second mode, to generate a transceiver outbound radio frequency (RF) signal, to receive a transceiver inbound RF signal and to convert the transceiver inbound RF signal to a transceiver near baseband signal. The integrated device further includes a digitization module operable, in the first mode, to convert the RFID near baseband signal to an RFID digital baseband signal, and operable, in a second mode, to convert the transceiver near baseband signal to a transceiver digital baseband signal, and a baseband processing module operably coupled, in the first mode, to convert the RFID digital baseband signal into inbound RFID digital data, and operably coupled, in the second mode, to convert the transceiver digital baseband signal into inbound transceiver digital data.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS

This U.S. application for patent claims the benefit of the filing dateof U.S. Provisional Patent Application entitled, RFID READER INTEGRATEDWITH WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE, Attorney Docket No. BP5176, havingSer. No. 60/778,523, filed on Mar. 2, 2006, which is incorporated hereinby reference for all purposes.

This U.S. application for patent is further related by subject matter tothe following U.S. Patent Applications filed on even date herewith:

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE WITH RFID READER, Attorney Docket No.BP5175, having Ser. No. 60/778,524; and

TRANSCEIVER AND METHOD FOR COMBINING RFID AMPLITUDE-MODULATED DATA WITHWIRELESS PHASE-MODULATED DATA, Attorney Docket No. BP5177, having Ser.No. 60/778,529;

The contents of which are expressly incorporated herein in theirentirety by reference thereto.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention is related generally to wireless communication systems,and more particularly to wireless communication devices facilitatingradio-frequency identification (RFID).

2. Description of Related Art

A radio frequency identification (RFID) system generally includes areader, also known as an interrogator, and a remote tag, also known as atransponder. Each tag stores identification data for use in identifyinga person, article, parcel or other object. RFID systems may use activetags that include an internal power source, such as a battery, and/orpassive tags that do not contain an internal power source, but insteadare remotely powered by the reader.

Communication between the reader and the remote tag is enabled by radiofrequency (RF) signals. In general, to access the identification datastored on an RFID tag, the RFID reader generates a modulated RFinterrogation signal designed to evoke a modulated RF response from atag. The RF response from the tag includes the coded identification datastored in the RFID tag. The RFID reader decodes the coded identificationdata to identify the person, article, parcel or other object associatedwith the RFID tag. For passive tags, the RFID reader also generates anunmodulated, continuous wave (CW) signal to activate and power the tagduring data transfer.

RFID systems typically employ either far-field technology, in which thedistance between the reader and the tag is great compared to thewavelength of the carrier signal, or near-field technology, in which theoperating distance is less than one wavelength of the carrier signal, tofacilitate communication between the RFID reader and RFID tag. Infar-field applications, the RFID reader generates and transmits an RFsignal via an antenna to all tags within range of the antenna. One ormore of the tags that receive the RF signal responds to the reader usinga backscattering technique in which the tags modulate and reflect thereceived RF signal. In near-field applications, the RFID reader and tagcommunicate via mutual inductance between corresponding reader and taginductors.

Current RFID readers are formed of separate and discrete componentswhose interfaces are well-defined. For example, an RFID reader mayconsist of a controller or microprocessor implemented on a CMOSintegrated circuit and a radio implemented on one or more separate CMOS,BiCMOS or GaAs integrated circuits that are uniquely designed foroptimal signal processing in a particular technology (e.g., near-fieldor far-field). However, the high cost of such discrete-component RFIDreaders has been a deterrent to wide-spread deployment of RFID systems.

For example, in some applications, it may be desirable to wirelesslycommunicate RFID data captured by an RFID reader to a computer, serveror network device for centralized storage, verification and/or analysisof the RFID data. There are a number of well-defined wirelesscommunication standards (e.g., IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, advanced mobilephone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, global system for mobilecommunications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), localmulti-point distribution systems (LMDS), multi-channel-multi-pointdistribution systems (MMDS), and/or variations thereof) that couldfacilitate such wireless communication between an RFID reader and anetwork device. However, due to the high cost of RFID readers, RFIDtechnology has not been integrated into existing wireless communicationdevices, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio, personal digitalassistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptop computer, homeentertainment equipment and other similar handheld wirelesscommunication devices.

Therefore, a need exists for a wireless communication device thatincorporates a low-cost RFID reader. In addition, a need exists for awireless communication device capable of communicating RFID data over acommunication network.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of operationthat are further described in the following Brief Description of theDrawings, the Detailed Description of the Invention, and the claims.Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the invention madewith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a communication systemthat includes a plurality of base stations or access points (APs), aplurality of wireless communication devices incorporating RFID readersand a network component in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device as a host device and an associated transceiver;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary RFIDreader architecture in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary wirelesscommunication device incorporating both a transceiver and an RFID readerin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4B is a schematic block diagram illustrating another exemplarywireless communication device incorporating both a transceiver and anRFID reader in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device having a transceiver integrated with an RFID readerin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device with exemplary shared components between atransceiver and an RFID reader in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary multi-bandsynthesizer of the wireless communication device in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary sharedantenna architecture of the wireless communication device in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a logic diagram of a method for operating the wirelesscommunication device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary wirelesscommunication device capable of simultaneously operating in transceivermode and RFID mode using a shared antenna architecture in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 10B is a schematic block diagram illustrating another exemplarywireless communication device capable of simultaneously operating intransceiver mode and RFID mode using a shared antenna architecture inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10C is a schematic block diagram illustrating yet another exemplarywireless communication device capable of simultaneously operating intransceiver mode and RFID mode using a shared antenna architecture inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10D is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary RF frontend capable of simultaneously operating in transceiver mode and RFIDmode using a shared antenna architecture in accordance with the presentinvention; and

FIG. 11 is a logic diagram of a method for simultaneously operating thewireless communication device in transceiver mode and RFID mode inaccordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of FIG. 1 is a functional blockdiagram illustrating a communication system 10 that includes a pluralityof base stations or access points (APs) 12-16, a plurality of wirelesscommunication devices 18-28 and a network hardware component 44. Thewireless communication devices 18-28 may be laptop computers 18,personal digital assistants 20, personal computers 24 and 28 and/orcellular telephones 22 and 26.

Wireless communication devices 22 and 26 each include a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) reader 30 and 32, respectively. Each RFID reader30 and 34 wirelessly communicates with one or more RFID tags 36-40within its coverage area. For example, RFID tags 36 and 38 may be withinthe coverage area of RFID reader 30, and RFID tag 40 may be within thecoverage area of RFID reader 32. In one embodiment, the RF communicationscheme between the RFID readers 30 and 32 and RFID tags 36-40 is abackscatter technique whereby the RFID readers 30 and 32 request datafrom the RFID tags 36-40 via an RF signal, and the RF tags 36-40 respondwith the requested data by modulating and backscattering the RF signalprovided by the RFID readers 30 and 32. In another embodiment, the RFcommunication scheme between the RFID readers 30 and 32 and RFID tags36-40 is an inductance technique whereby the RFID readers 30 and 32magnetically couple to the RFID tags 36-40 via an RF signal to accessthe data on the RFID tags 36-40. In either embodiment, the RFID tags36-40 provide the requested data to the RFID readers 30 and 32 on thesame RF carrier frequency as the RF signal. The details of the wirelesscommunication devices and associated RFID readers will be described ingreater detail with reference to FIGS. 2-9.

The base stations or APs 12-16 are operably coupled to the networkhardware component 44 via local area network (LAN) connections 46-49.The network hardware component 44, which may be a router, switch,bridge, modem, system controller, etc., provides a wide area networkconnection 42 for the communication system 10. Each of the base stationsor access points 12-16 has an associated antenna or antenna array tocommunicate with the wireless communication devices in its area.Typically, the wireless communication devices 18-28 register with theparticular base station or access points 12-16 to receive services fromthe communication system 10. For direct connections (i.e.,point-to-point communications), wireless communication devicescommunicate directly via an allocated channel.

Typically, base stations are used for cellular telephone systems andlike-type systems, while access points are used for in-home orin-building wireless networks. For example, access points are typicallyused in Bluetooth systems. Regardless of the particular type ofcommunication system, each wireless communication device and each of thebase stations or access points includes a built-in radio and/or iscoupled to a radio. The radio includes a transceiver (transmitter andreceiver) for modulating/demodulating information (data or speech) bitsinto a format that comports with the type of communication system.

In addition to or as an alternative to including RFID readers withinwireless communication devices, an RFID reader 34 can also beincorporated within a base station 16. As shown in FIG. 1, RFID reader34 within base station 16 wirelessly communicates with one or more RFIDtags 42 within its coverage area using a backscatter technique. The RFIDcollected by the RFID reader 34 may then be passed to the networkhardware component 44 over LAN connection 48.

In this manner, the RFID readers 30-34 collect RFID data from each ofthe RFID tags 36-42 within its coverage area. The collected data maythen be conveyed to the network hardware component 44 for furtherprocessing and/or forwarding of the collected data. For example, theRFID readers 30 and 32 incorporated within wireless communicationdevices 22 and 26 can provide the collected RFID data to the respectiveinternal transceivers within wireless communication devices 22 and 26 tocommunicate the RFID data to the network hardware component 44 using anyavailable wireless communication standard (e.g., IEEE 802.11x,Bluetooth, et cetera). In addition, and/or in the alternative, thenetwork hardware component 44 may provide data to one or more of theRFID tags 36-42 via the associated RFID reader 30-34. Such downloadedinformation is application dependent and may vary greatly. Uponreceiving the downloaded data, the RFID tag can store the data in anon-volatile memory therein.

The RFID tags 36-42 may each be associated with a particular object fora variety of purposes including, but not limited to, tracking inventory,tracking status, location determination, assembly progress, et cetera.The RFID tags may be active devices that include internal power sourcesor passive devices that derive power from the RFID readers 30-34.

As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the communicationsystem 10 of FIG. 1 may be expanded to include a multitude of RFIDreaders 30-34 distributed throughout a desired location (for example, abuilding, office site, et cetera) where the RFID tags may be associatedwith equipment, inventory, personnel, et cetera. In addition, it shouldbe noted that the network hardware component 44 may be coupled to anRFID server and/or other network device to provide wide area networkcoverage.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device 18-28 as a host device and an associatedtransceiver 60. For cellular telephone hosts, the radio 60 is a built-incomponent. For personal digital assistants hosts, laptop hosts, and/orpersonal computer hosts, the transceiver 60 may be built-in or anexternally coupled component.

As illustrated, the host wireless communication device 18-28 includes aprocessing module 50, a memory 52, a transceiver interface 54, an inputinterface 58 and an output interface 56. The processing module 50 andmemory 52 execute instructions that are typically performed by the hostdevice. For example, for a cellular telephone host device, theprocessing module 50 performs the corresponding communication functionsin accordance with a particular cellular telephone standard.

The transceiver interface 54 allows data to be received from and sent tothe transceiver 60. For data received from the transceiver 60 (e.g.,inbound data), the transceiver interface 54 provides the data to theprocessing module 50 for further processing and/or routing to the outputinterface 56. The output interface 56 provides connectivity to an outputdevice such as a display, monitor, speakers, etc., such that thereceived data may be displayed. The transceiver interface 54 alsoprovides data from the processing module 50 to the transceiver 60. Theprocessing module 50 may receive the outbound data from an input devicesuch as a keyboard, keypad, microphone, etc., via the input interface 58or generate the data itself. For data received via the input interface58, the processing module 50 may perform a corresponding host functionon the data and/or route it to the transceiver 60 via the transceiverinterface 54.

Transceiver 60 includes a host interface 62, a digital receiverprocessing module 64, an analog-to-digital converter 66, afiltering/gain module 68, a down-conversion module 70, a low noiseamplifier 72, receiver filter module 71, a transmitter/receiver (Tx/RX)switch module 73, a local oscillation module 74, a memory 75, a digitaltransmitter processing module 76, a digital-to-analog converter 78, afiltering/gain module 80, an IF mixing up-conversion module 82, a poweramplifier 84, a transmitter filter module 85, and an antenna 86. Theantenna 86 is shared by the transmit and receive paths as regulated bythe Tx/Rx switch module 73. The antenna implementation will depend onthe particular standard to which the wireless communication device iscompliant.

The digital receiver processing module 64 and the digital transmitterprocessing module 76, in combination with operational instructionsstored in memory 75, execute digital receiver functions and digitaltransmitter functions, respectively. The digital receiver functionsinclude, but are not limited to, demodulation, constellation demapping,decoding, and/or descrambling. The digital transmitter functionsinclude, but are not limited to, scrambling, encoding, constellationmapping, modulation. The digital receiver and transmitter processingmodules 64 and 76 may be implemented using a shared processing device,individual processing devices, or a plurality of processing devices.Such a processing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller,digital signal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, fieldprogrammable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logiccircuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device thatmanipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on operationalinstructions. The memory 75 may be a single memory device or a pluralityof memory devices. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory,random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, staticmemory, dynamic memory, flash memory, and/or any device that storesdigital information. Note that when the digital receiver processingmodule 64 and/or the digital transmitter processing module 76 implementsone or more of its functions via a state machine, analog circuitry,digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry, the memory storing thecorresponding operational instructions is embedded with the circuitrycomprising the state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry,and/or logic circuitry. The memory 75 stores, and the digital receiverprocessing module 64 and/or the digital transmitter processing module 76executes, operational instructions corresponding to at least some of thefunctions illustrated herein.

In operation, the transceiver 60 receives outbound data 94 from the hostwireless communication device 18-28 via the host interface 62. The hostinterface 62 routes the outbound data 94 to the digital transmitterprocessing module 76, which processes the outbound data 94 in accordancewith a particular wireless communication standard (e.g., IEEE 802.11a,IEEE 802.11b, Bluetooth, etc.) to produce digital transmission formatteddata 96. The digital transmission formatted data 96 will be a digitalbaseband signal or a digital low IF signal, where the low IF typicallywill be in the frequency range of one hundred kilohertz to a fewmegahertz.

The digital-to-analog converter 78 converts the digital transmissionformatted data 96 from the digital domain to the analog domain. Thefiltering/gain module 80 filters and/or adjusts the gain of the analogbaseband signal prior to providing it to the up-conversion module 82.The up-conversion module 82 directly converts the analog basebandsignal, or low IF signal, into an RF signal based on a transmitter localoscillation 83 provided by local oscillation module 74. The poweramplifier 84 amplifies the RF signal to produce an outbound RF signal98, which is filtered by the transmitter filter module 85. The antenna86 transmits the outbound RF signal 98 to a targeted device such as abase station, an access point and/or another wireless communicationdevice.

The transceiver 60 also receives an inbound RF signal 88 via the antenna86, which was transmitted by a base station, an access point, or anotherwireless communication device. The antenna 86 provides the inbound RFsignal 88 to the receiver filter module 71 via the Tx/Rx switch module73, where the Rx filter module 71 bandpass filters the inbound RF signal88. The Rx filter module 71 provides the filtered RF signal to low noiseamplifier 72, which amplifies the inbound RF signal 88 to produce anamplified inbound RF signal. The low noise amplifier 72 provides theamplified inbound RF signal to the down-conversion module 70, whichdirectly converts the amplified inbound RF signal into an inbound low IFsignal or baseband signal based on a receiver local oscillation signal81 provided by local oscillation module 74. The down-conversion module70 provides the inbound low IF signal or baseband signal to thefiltering/gain module 68. The filtering/gain module 68 may beimplemented in accordance with the teachings of the present invention tofilter and/or attenuate the inbound low IF signal or the inboundbaseband signal to produce a filtered inbound signal.

The analog-to-digital converter 66 converts the filtered inbound signalfrom the analog domain to the digital domain to produce digitalreception formatted data 90. The digital receiver processing module 64decodes, descrambles, demaps, and/or demodulates the digital receptionformatted data 90 to recapture inbound data 92 in accordance with theparticular wireless communication standard being implemented bytransceiver 60. The host interface 62 provides the recaptured inbounddata 92 to the host wireless communication device 18-28 via thetransceiver interface 54.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, the wirelesscommunication device of FIG. 2 may be implemented using one or moreintegrated circuits. For example, the host device may be implemented ona first integrated circuit, while the digital receiver processing module64, the digital transmitter processing module 76 and memory 75 areimplemented on a second integrated circuit, and the remaining componentsof the transceiver 60, less the antenna 86, may be implemented on athird integrated circuit. As an alternate example, the transceiver 60may be implemented on a single integrated circuit. As yet anotherexample, the processing module 50 of the host device and the digitalreceiver processing module 64 and the digital transmitter processingmodule 76 may be a common processing device implemented on a singleintegrated circuit. Further, memory 52 and memory 75 may be implementedon a single integrated circuit and/or on the same integrated circuit asthe common processing modules of processing module 50, the digitalreceiver processing module 64, and the digital transmitter processingmodule 76.

The wireless communication device of FIG. 2 is one that may beimplemented to include either a direct conversion from RF to basebandand baseband to RF or for a conversion by way of a low intermediatefrequency. Thus, while one embodiment of the present invention includeslocal oscillation module 74, up-conversion module 82 and down-conversionmodule 70 that are implemented to perform conversion between a lowintermediate frequency (IF) and RF, it is understood that the principlesherein may also be applied readily to systems that implement a directconversion between baseband and RF.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an RFID reader 30-34 thatincludes an integrated circuit 156 and may further include a hostinterface module 154. The integrated circuit 156 includes a protocolprocessing module 140, an encoding module 142, a digital-to-analogconverter (DAC) 144, an RF front-end 146, a digitization module 148, apredecoding module 150 and a decoding module 152, all of which togetherform the essential components of the RFID reader 30-34. In anotherembodiment, the DAC 144 is removed from the transmit path, and as such,the power amplifier in the RF front end 146 takes digital power controlinput. The host interface module 154 may include a communicationinterface to a host device, such as a cellular telephone or otherwireless communication device.

The protocol processing module 140 is operably coupled to prepare datafor encoding in accordance with a particular RFID standardized protocol.In an exemplary embodiment, the protocol processing module 140 isprogrammed with multiple RFID standardized protocols to enable the RFIDreader 30-32 to communicate with any RFID tag, regardless of theparticular protocol associated with the tag. In this embodiment, theprotocol processing module 140 operates to program filters and othercomponents of the encoding module 142, decoding module 152, pre-decodingmodule 150 and RF front end 146 in accordance with the particular RFIDstandardized protocol of the tag(s) currently communicating with theRFID reader 30-34.

In operation, once the particular RFID standardized protocol has beenselected for communication with one or more RFID tags, the protocolprocessing module 140 generates and provides digital data to becommunicated to the RFID tag to the encoding module 142 for encoding inaccordance with the selected RFID standardized protocol. By way ofexample, but not limitation, the RFID protocols may include one or moreline encoding schemes, such as Manchester encoding, FM0 encoding, FM1encoding, etc. Thereafter, the encoded data is provided to thedigital-to-analog converter 144 which converts the digitally encodeddata into an analog signal. The RF front-end 146 modulates the analogsignal to produce an RF signal at a particular carrier frequency that istransmitted via antenna 160 to one or more RFID tags.

Upon receiving an RF signal from one or more RFID tags, the RF front-end146 converts the received RF signal into a baseband signal. Thedigitization module 148, which may be a limiting module or ananalog-to-digital converter, converts the received baseband signal intoa digital signal. The predecoding module 150 converts the digital signalinto an encoded signal in accordance with the particular RFID protocolbeing utilized. The encoded data is provided to the decoding module 152,which recaptures data therefrom in accordance with the particularencoding scheme of the selected RFID protocol. The protocol processingmodule 140 processes the recovered data to identify the object(s)associated with the RFID tag(s) and/or provides the recovered data tothe host device, as described in more detail below in connection withFIGS. 4 and 5, for further processing.

In an exemplary operation involving passive RFID tags, the RFID reader30-34 first transmits an unmodulated, continuous wave (CW) RF signal toactivate and provide power to all passive tags within the range of theantenna 160. The protocol processing module 140 controls the timing ofthe CW transmission to ensure that the CW transmission is long enough toenable the tags to receive and decode a subsequent interrogation signalfrom the RFID reader 30-34 and to generate a response thereto.Thereafter, the RFID reader 30-34 generates and transmits anamplitude-modulated (AM) RF interrogation signal to the tags, requestingdata from the RFID tags. After the AM signal has been transmitted for apredetermined length of time, the RF signal is again changed back to aCW signal to provide power to the tags and to allow backscattering ofthe signal by the tags with the requested data.

The RF front-end 146 may include filters, a frequency synthesizer orlocal oscillation module, power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers,up-conversion modules, down-conversion modules and other RF components,as desired. In addition, the RF front-end 146 may further includetransmit blocking capabilities such that the energy of the transmittedRF signal does not substantially interfere with the receiving of aback-scattered or other RF signal received from one or more RFID tagsvia the antenna 160. The antenna 160 may be a single antenna or anantenna array.

The processing module 140 may be a single processing device or aplurality of processing devices. Such a processing device may be amicroprocessor, micro-controller, digital signal processor,microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array,programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuitry, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device that manipulates signals(analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of the circuitry and/oroperational instructions. The processing module may have an associatedmemory element, which may be a single memory device, a plurality ofmemory devices, and/or embedded circuitry of the processing module. Sucha memory device may be a read-only memory, random access memory,volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamic memory,flash memory, cache memory, and/or any device that stores digitalinformation. Note that when the processing module 140 implements one ormore of its functions via a state machine, analog circuitry, digitalcircuitry, and/or logic circuitry, the memory element storing thecorresponding operational instructions may be embedded within, orexternal to, the circuitry comprising the state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry. Further note that,the memory element stores, and the processing module 140 executes, hardcoded and/or operational instructions corresponding to at least some ofthe steps and/or functions illustrated in FIGS. 3-10 below.

By integrating the RFID reader 30-34 onto a single integrated circuit156, the cost of the RFID reader 30-34 is significantly reduced, therebyenabling RFID reader technology to be implemented on a wirelesscommunication device at low cost.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, there is illustrated an exemplary wirelesscommunication device 22, 26 incorporating both a transceiver 60 and anRFID reader 30, 32 in accordance with the present invention. Thetransceiver 60 includes antenna 86, a transceiver RF front-end 212, atransceiver baseband processing module 210 and a transceiver hostinterface 62. The transceiver RF front-end 212 includes various RFcomponents, such as filters, an up-conversion module, a down-conversionmodule, a local oscillation module, low noise amplifiers and poweramplifiers, as can be seen in FIG. 2. The transceiver basebandprocessing module 210 includes various transmitter and receiverprocessing modules, as can also be seen in FIG. 2.

The RFID reader 30, 32 includes antenna 160, RFID front-end 146, an RFIDbaseband processing module 220 and an RFID host interface 154. The RFIDfront-end 146 corresponds to the RF front-end 146 illustrated in FIG. 3.The RFID baseband processing module 220 includes various basebandprocessing components, such as encoding modules, decoding modules andprotocol processing modules, as can be seen in FIG. 3.

The transceiver host interface 62 and RFID host interface 154 eachprovide a respective communication interface to the host processingmodule 50 of the host wireless communication device 22, 26. Thus, hostprocessing module 50 provides outbound transceiver data to thetransceiver 60 and receives inbound transceiver data from thetransceiver 60 via the transceiver host interface 62. In addition, thehost processing module 50 provides outbound RFID data to the RFID reader30, 32 and receives inbound RFID data from the RFID reader 30, 32 viathe RFID host interface 154. In one embodiment, the host processingmodule 50 includes a transceiver host processing module 230 forprocessing outbound and inbound transceiver data and an RFID hostprocessing module 232 for processing outbound and inbound RFID data. Thetransceiver host processing module 230 and RFID host processing module232 may be implemented as separate protocol blocks in software or as twoseparate processor chips. In another embodiment, the host processingmodule 50 is shared between the transceiver 60 and RFID reader 30, 32,as will be described in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 4B, 5and 6.

The host processing module 50 is operable in two modes: a transceivermode and an RFID mode. In transceiver mode, the host processing module50 receives inbound transceiver data from and/or provides outboundtransceiver data to the transceiver 60 via the transceiver hostinterface 62. In RFID mode, the host processing module 50 receivesinbound RFID data from and/or provides outbound RFID data to the RFIDreader 30, 32 via the RFID host interface 154. In one embodiment, thehost processing module 50 operates in only one mode at a time. In otherembodiments, the host processing module 50 is capable of simultaneouslyoperating in both transceiver mode and RFID mode. For example, as shownin FIG. 4, the transceiver host processing module 230 and RFID hostprocessing module 232 are capable of simultaneously communicating withthe transceiver 60 and RFID reader 30, 32, respectively. As a result,transceiver data is able to be transmitted and/or received over antenna86 while RFID data is being transmitted and/or received over antenna160. In this way, the wireless communication device 22, 26 is equippedwith RFID capabilities without disrupting normal transceiver operation.

The host processing module 50 further includes an interface 234 forenabling communication between the transceiver 60 and the RFID reader30, 32. For example, the interface 234 enables RFID data captured by theRFID reader 30, 32 to be communicated to a network device, such as abase station, an access point and/or another wireless communicationdevice, via transceiver 60. In addition, the interface 234 enablestransceiver data received from a wireless network to be communicated tothe RFID reader 30, 32. For example, the transceiver data may includesignaling or other commands to the RFID reader 30, 32, or it may includedata to be written via the RFID reader 30, 32 into an RFID tag.

In an exemplary operation, upon receiving an RF signal from one or moreRFID tags at antenna 160, the RFID RF front-end 146 converts thereceived RF signal into a baseband signal, which is thereafter convertedinto a digital baseband signal. The digital baseband signal is providedto the RFID baseband processing module 220 to recapture RFID datatherefrom in accordance with a particular RFID protocol used by the RFIDtag that generated that RF signal. The RFID baseband processing module220 may further process the RFID data to identify the object(s)associated with the RFID tag(s). The recovered RFID data is furtherprovided to the RFID host processing module 232 via RFID host interface154. Upon receiving the RFID data, the RFID host processing module 232provides the RFID data to the transceiver host processing module 230 viainterface 234. The transceiver host processing module 230 formats theRFID data in accordance with a particular wireless communicationprotocol associated with the transceiver 60 and provides the formattedRFID data to the transceiver baseband processing module 210 via thetransceiver host interface 62. The transceiver baseband processingmodule 210 processes the formatted RFID data in accordance with aparticular wireless communication standard (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE802.11b, Bluetooth, etc.) to produce a digital near baseband signal. Thedigital near baseband signal is converted from the digital domain to theanalog domain and provided to the transceiver RF front end 212 forup-conversion to produce an outbound RF signal that is transmitted bythe antenna 86 to a network device, such as a base station, an accesspoint and/or another wireless communication device.

FIG. 4B illustrates another exemplary wireless communication device 22,26 in which the transceiver 60 and RFID reader 30, 32 are at leastpartially integrated in accordance with the present invention. As inFIG. 4A, the transceiver 60 includes antenna 86 and transceiver RFfront-end 212, while RFID reader 30, 32 includes antenna 160 and RFID RFfront end 146. However, the RFID reader 30, 32 and transceiver 60 sharea common baseband processing module 350, a common host interface 158 andthe host processing module 50.

The common baseband processing module 350 is operable in two modes: atransceiver mode and an RFID mode. In transceiver mode, the basebandprocessing module 350 processes inbound or outbound transceiver data,while in RFID mode, the baseband processing module 350 processes inboundor outbound RFID data. In one embodiment, the baseband processing module350 operates in only one mode at a time. In other embodiments, thebaseband processing module 350 is capable of simultaneously operating inboth transceiver mode and RFID mode.

Host processing module 50 provides outbound transceiver data to thetransceiver 60 and receives inbound transceiver data from thetransceiver 60 via the common host interface 158. In addition, the hostprocessing module 50 provides outbound RFID data to the RFID reader 30,32 and receives inbound RFID data from the RFID reader 30, 32 via thecommon host interface 158.

In an exemplary operation, upon receiving an RF signal from one or moreRFID tags at antenna 160, the RFID RF front-end 146 converts thereceived RF signal into a baseband signal, which is thereafter convertedinto a digital baseband signal. The digital baseband signal is providedto the common baseband processing module 350 to recapture RFID datatherefrom in accordance with a particular RFID protocol used by the RFIDtag that generated that RF signal. In one embodiment, the commonbaseband processing module 232 processes the RFID data to identify theobject(s) associated with the RFID tag(s). In another embodiment, thecommon baseband processing module reformats the RFID data in accordancewith a particular wireless communication protocol associated with thetransceiver 60 and provides the formatted RFID data in the analog domainto the transceiver RF front end 212 for up-conversion to produce anoutbound RF signal that is transmitted by the antenna 86 to a networkdevice, such as a base station, an access point and/or another wirelesscommunication device. In yet another embodiment, instead of or inaddition to providing the RFID digital data to the transceiver RF frontend 212 and/or processing the RFID digital data, the recovered RFIDdigital data is provided to the host processing module 50 via the commonhost interface 158 for further processing, storage and/or display.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating another exemplarywireless communication device 22, 26 in which the RFID readerfunctionality is integrated with the transceiver functionality. Forexample, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the RFID baseband processing module220 and transceiver baseband processing module 210 are combined inbaseband processing module 350. The transceiver baseband processingmodule 210 and RFID baseband processing module 220 may be implemented asseparate protocol blocks in software or as two separate processor chips.In addition, the RFID baseband processing module 220 and transceiverbaseband processing module 210 share the host processing module 50.

The combined baseband processing module 350 is operable in two modes: atransceiver mode and an RFID mode. In transceiver mode, the basebandprocessing module 350 processes inbound or outbound transceiver data,while in RFID mode, the baseband processing module 350 processes inboundor outbound RFID data. In one embodiment, the baseband processing module350 operates in only one mode at a time. In other embodiments, thebaseband processing module 350 is capable of simultaneously operating inboth transceiver mode and RFID mode.

Furthermore, in FIG. 5, both the transceiver and RFID reader are shownsharing the RF front end 305, DAC 330, ADC 332 and antenna 320. The RFfront end 305 is also operable in both transceiver mode and RFID mode.In transceiver mode, the RF front end 305 is operable to convert nearbaseband transceiver signals generated by the baseband processing module350 into outbound RF transceiver signals for transmission via antenna320 and to convert RF transceiver signals received via antenna 320 intoinbound near baseband transceiver signals for transmission to thebaseband processing module 350. In RFID mode, the RF front end 305 isoperable to convert near baseband RFID signals generated by the basebandprocessing module 350 into outbound RF RFID signals for transmission viaantenna 320 and to convert RF RFID signals received via antenna 320 intoinbound near baseband RFID signals for transmission to the basebandprocessing module 350.

In an exemplary operation, upon receiving an RF signal from one or moreRFID tags at antenna 320, the RF front-end 305 converts the received RFsignal into a near baseband RFID signal, which is thereafter convertedinto a digital baseband RFID signal by ADC 332. The digital basebandRFID signal is provided to the RFID baseband processing module 220within baseband processing module 350 via multiplexer 342 to recaptureRFID data therefrom in accordance with a particular RFID protocol usedby the RFID tag that generated that RF signal. The recovered RFID datais further provided to the host processing module 50. Upon receiving theRFID data, the host processing module 50 provides the digital RFID datato the transceiver baseband processing module 210 within the combinedbaseband processing module 350. The transceiver baseband processingmodule 210 processes the RFID data in accordance with a particularwireless communication protocol to produce a digital near basebandtransceiver signal, and provides the digital near baseband transceiversignal to the DAC 330 via multiplexer 340 for conversion into an analognear baseband transceiver signal. The analog near baseband transceiversignal is provided to the RF front end 305 for up-conversion to producean outbound RF transceiver signal that is transmitted by the antenna 320to a network device, such as a base station, an access point and/oranother wireless communication device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating yet another exemplarywireless communication device 22, 26 in which some components of theRFID reader are shared with the transceiver. For example, as can be seenin FIG. 6, the RFID baseband processing module 220 and transceiverbaseband processing module 210 share the host processing module 50 andmemory 318. Bus arbiter 316 facilitates access to the memory 318 by hostprocessing module 50, RFID baseband processing module 220 andtransceiver baseband processing module 210. In an exemplary operation,RFID data received by the host processing module 50 from the RFIDbaseband processing module 220 is stored in memory 318 via bus arbiter316. The host processing module 50 provides the memory address of thestored RFID data to the transceiver baseband processing module 210 foruse in retrieving the stored RFID data via bus arbiter 316.

In addition to the host processing module 50 and memory 318, thetransceiver and RFID reader can further share a frequency synthesizer310 and an antenna 320. The shared frequency synthesizer 310 includes alocal oscillator 312 that is capable of generating in-phase (I) andquadrature (Q) RF carrier signals (hereinafter termed local oscillationsignals) in multiple frequency bands and a synthesizer control 314 thatselects a particular frequency band for input to either the transceiverRF front end 212 or RFID RF front end 146.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary multi-bandsynthesizer 310 in accordance with the present invention. The multi-bandsynthesizer 310 includes a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 412, ahopping sequence generator 410, a divide-by-2 block 430, a divide-by-8block 460, a filter 450, multipliers 440 and 470 and a direct digitalfrequency synthesizer (DDFS) 480. The hopping sequence generator 410controls the frequency output of the VCO 412. The output 420 produced bythe VCO 412 is input to the divide-by-2 block 430 and multiplied bymultiplier 440 to the output 422 of the divide-by-2 block 430. Theoutput of the multiplier 440 is input to the filter 450, and the outputof the filter 450 is input to the divide-by-8 block 460. The output 465of the divide-by-8 block 460 is input to the multiplier 470 formultiplication with the output of the DDFS 480.

The VCO 412, divide-by-two block 430, divide-by-8 block 460 and DDFS 480allows the synthesizer 310 to easily generate in-phase (I) andquadrature (Q) carrier signals in multiple frequency bands. For example,RF carrier signals 420 in a first frequency band are produced by tappingthe output of the VCO 412, RF carrier signals 422 in a second frequencyband are produced by tapping the output of the divide-by-two block 430,RF carrier signals 465 in a third frequency band are produced by tappingthe output of the divide-by-8 block 460, RF carrier signals 475 in afourth frequency band are produced by tapping the output of themultiplier 470 and RF carrier signals 485 in a fifth frequency band areproduced by tapping the output of the DDFS 480.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary shared antennaarchitecture of the wireless communication device in accordance with thepresent invention. The shared antenna architecture includes atransceiver module 500 for operating in transceiver mode and an RFIDmodule 550 for operating in RFID mode. The transceiver module 500includes a power amplifier 510 and a low noise amplifier 515, while theRFID module 550 also includes a power amplifier 560 and a low noiseamplifier 555. In transceiver mode, an analog signal from thetransceiver baseband processing module is provided to the transceivermodule 500. The analog signal is input to power amplifier 510 foramplification thereof. The amplified signal produces an RF signal atantenna 320. Likewise, in RFID mode, an analog signal from the RFIDbaseband processing module is provided to the RFID module 550. Theanalog signal is input to power amplifier 560 for amplification thereof.The amplified signal produces an RF signal at antenna 320. In a similarmanner, when the antenna 320 receives an RF signal, in transceiver mode,the received RF signal is coupled to low noise amplifier 515, while inRFID mode, the received RF signal is coupled to low noise amplifier 555.

FIG. 9 is a logic diagram of a method 600 for operating the wirelesscommunication device in accordance with the present invention. Theprocess begins at steps 605 and 610, where a wireless communicationdevice is provided with both a transceiver and an RFID reader. Theprocess then proceeds to decision step 615, at which either transceivermode or RFID mode is selected. If transceiver mode is selected (Y branchof step 615), the process proceeds to step 620, where an outbound RFsignal is generated by the transceiver. The process then proceeds tosteps 625 and 630, where an inbound RF signal is received and processedat the transceiver. However, if RFID mode is selected (N branch of step615), the process proceeds to step 635, where an outbound RF signal isgenerated by the RFID reader. The process then proceeds to steps 640 and645, where an inbound RF signal is received and processed at the RFIDreader. The process ends at step 650, where the processed RF signal isprovided by the transceiver or RFID reader to the host device.

FIG. 10A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary wirelesscommunication device 22, 26 capable of simultaneously operating intransceiver mode and RFID mode using a shared antenna architecture inaccordance with the present invention. Instead of using separate poweramplifiers and low noise amplifiers for the transceiver and RFID reader,in FIG. 9, a power amplifier 760 and low noise amplifier 765 are sharedby the transceiver and RFID reader. Power amplifier 760 and low noiseamplifier 765 each represent one or more thereof. The transceiverproduces a phase modulated RF signal 770, while the RFID reader producesan amplitude modulated RF signal 776. These two signals 770 and 776 canbe combined by amplitude modulating the phase modulated RF signal 770produced by the transceiver at the power amplifier 710 to produce acombined amplified outbound RF signal 772. The combined amplifiedoutbound RF signal 772 can be transmitted via antenna 310 to RFID tags,other RFID readers and network devices, such as base stations, accesspoints or other wireless communication devices.

At the receiving device, the received RF signal 710 is processed inaccordance with the particular standard employed by the receivingdevice. For example, if the receiving device is an RFID tag, the RFIDtag will ignore any phase modulation in the received RF signal andprocess only the amplitude modulated component of the received RFsignal. Likewise, if the receiving device is a network device, thenetwork device will ignore any amplitude modulation in the received RFsignal and process only the phase modulated component of the received RFsignal.

The wireless communication device is further capable of receiving acombined inbound RF signal 774 that includes both phase modulatedcomponent and an amplitude modulated component. The combined inbound RFsignal 774 can be generated by a single device or multiple devices. Forexample, the combined inbound RF signal 774 can include both a phasemodulated RF signal generated by a network device and an amplitudemodulated RF signal generated by an RFID tag or another RFID reader. Thecombined inbound RF signal 774 is received at the low noise amplifier765 and the resulting amplified combined inbound RF signal 775 isprovided to both the transceiver RF front end 212 and the RFID RF frontend 146. The transceiver front end 212 ignores the amplitude modulatedcomponent of the amplified combined inbound RF signal 775, converts anyphase modulated component of the amplified combined inbound RF signal775 to a near baseband signal and provides the near baseband signal tothe transceiver baseband processing module 210 for further processing.In a similar manner, the RFID front end ignores the phase modulatedcomponent of the amplified combined inbound RF signal 775, converts anyamplitude modulated component of the amplified combined inbound RFsignal 775 to a near baseband signal and provides the near basebandsignal to the RFID baseband processing module 220 for furtherprocessing.

FIG. 10B is a schematic block diagram illustrating another exemplarywireless communication device 22, 26 capable of simultaneously operatingin transceiver mode and RFID mode using a shared antenna architecture inaccordance with the present invention. Instead of amplitude modulatingthe phase modulated signal at the power amplifier 760, as shown in FIG.10A, in FIG. 10B, an amplitude modulated signal 752 produced by the RFIDbaseband processing module 220 is combined with a phase modulated signal750 produced by the transceiver baseband processing module 210 atbaseband combiner 710. The combined baseband signal 755 is input to ashared transmitter RF front end 712 for up-conversion to produce acombined RF signal 715. The combined RF signal 715 is input to the poweramplifier 760 to produce the combined amplified outbound RF signal 772,which is transmitted via shared antenna 320.

On the receiver side, when the antenna 320 receives a combined inboundRF signal 774 that includes both a phase modulated component and anamplitude modulated component, the combined inbound RF signal 774 isinput to the low noise amplifier 765 and the resulting amplifiedcombined inbound RF signal 775 is provided to a shared receiver RF frontend 714. The shared receiver RF front end 714 converts the amplifiedcombined inbound RF signal 775 to a near baseband signal 777 andprovides the near baseband signal 777 to baseband splitter 720. Thebaseband splitter 720 separates the near baseband signal 777 into aphase modulated baseband signal 780 and an amplitude modulated basebandsignal 782. The baseband splitter 710 further provides the phasemodulated baseband signal 780 to the transceiver baseband processingmodule 210 for further processing and provides the amplitude modulatedbaseband signal 782 to the RFID baseband processing module 220 forfurther processing.

FIG. 10C is a schematic block diagram illustrating yet another exemplarywireless communication device 22, 26 capable of simultaneously operatingin transceiver mode and RFID mode using a shared antenna architecture inaccordance with the present invention. In FIG. 10C, the basebandprocessing modules and RF front ends are separated between the RFIDreader and transceiver such that a phase modulated baseband signal 742produced by transceiver baseband processing module 210 is input to atransmitter RF front end 732 of the transceiver for up-conversion to thephase modulated RF signal 770, and an amplitude modulated basebandsignal 744 produced by RFID baseband processing module 220 is input to atransmitter RF front end 734 of the RFID reader for up-conversion to theamplitude modulated RF signal 776. The amplitude modulated RF signal 776is combined with the phase modulated RF signal 770 at RF combiner 730.The combined RF signal 746 is input to the power amplifier 760 toproduce the combined amplified outbound RF signal 772, which istransmitted via shared antenna 320.

On the receiver side, when the antenna 320 receives a combined inboundRF signal 774 that includes both a phase modulated component and anamplitude modulated component, the combined inbound RF signal 774 isinput to the low noise amplifier 765 and the resulting amplifiedcombined inbound RF signal 775 is provided to RF splitter 740, whichseparates the amplified combined inbound RF signal 775 into a phasemodulated inbound RF signal 762 and an amplitude modulated inbound RFsignal 764. The RF splitter 740 further provides the phase modulatedinbound RF signal 762 to a receiver RF front end 236 of the transceiverfor down-conversion to the phase modulated baseband signal 780. The RFsplitter 740 further provides the amplitude modulated inbound RF signal764 to a receiver RF front end 238 of the RFID reader fordown-conversion to the amplitude modulated baseband signal 782.

FIG. 10D is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary sharedtransmitter RF front end 712 capable of simultaneously operating intransceiver mode and RFID mode in accordance with the present invention.In FIG. 10D, the phase modulated baseband signal 742 produced bytransceiver baseband processing module 210 and the amplitude modulatedbaseband signal 744 produced by RFID baseband processing module 220 isinput to a shared transmitter RF front end 712. At the sharedtransmitter RF front end 712, the phase modulated baseband signal 742 iscombined with the amplitude modulated baseband signal 744 at combiner790 and the combined baseband signal 745 is mixed with a localoscillation signal at mixer 795 to up-convert the combined basebandsignal 745 to the combined RF signal 746, which is provide to the poweramplifier and antenna for amplification and transmission thereof. Asimilar architecture can be used to implement a shared receiver RF frontend for down-converting combined inbound RF signals, and separating thecombined inbound baseband signal into its amplitude modulated and phasemodulated components.

FIG. 11 is a logic diagram of a method 800 for simultaneously operatingthe wireless communication device in transceiver mode and RFID mode inaccordance with the present invention. The method begins at step 805,where a wireless communication device is provided with a transceiver andRFID reader integrated by a shared antenna architecture. The processthen proceeds to step 810, where a phase modulated outbound RF signal isgenerated by the transceiver. At step 815, the phase modulated outboundRF signal is amplitude modulated by the RFID reader to produce acombined outbound RF signal. The combined outbound RF signal may betransmitted via a shared antenna to RFID tags, other RFID readers andnetwork devices.

The process then proceeds to step 820, where an inbound RF signal isreceived at the wireless communication device. The inbound RF signal mayhave both an amplitude modulated component generated by an RFID tag orRFID reader and a phase modulated component generated by a networkdevice. The process then proceeds to steps 825, 830 and 840, where theinbound RF signal is amplified and provided to both the transceiver andthe RFID reader within the wireless communication device. At step 835,the transceiver processes the amplified inbound RF signal to recoverinbound transceiver digital data from the phase modulated component ofthe amplified inbound RF signal. Likewise, at step 845, the RFID readerprocesses the amplified inbound RF signal to recover inbound RFIDdigital data from the amplitude modulated component of the amplifiedinbound RF signal. The process ends at step 850, where the inbounddigital data from both the transceiver and RFID reader are provided tothe host device.

As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the term“substantially,” as may be used herein, provides an industry-acceptedtolerance to its corresponding term and/or relativity between items.Such an industry-accepted tolerance ranges from less than one percent totwenty percent and corresponds to, but is not limited to, componentvalues, integrated circuit process variations, temperature variations,rise and fall times, and/or thermal noise. Such relativity between itemsranges from a difference of a few percent to magnitude differences. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate, the term“operably coupled”, as may be used herein, includes direct coupling andindirect coupling via another component, element, circuit, or modulewhere, for indirect coupling, the intervening component, element,circuit, or module does not modify the information of a signal but mayadjust its current level, voltage level, and/or power level. As one ofordinary skill in the art will also appreciate, inferred coupling (i.e.,where one element is coupled to another element by inference) includesdirect and indirect coupling between two elements in the same manner as“operably coupled”.

The preceding discussion has presented a wireless communication deviceincorporating a low-cost RFID reader and method of operation thereof. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, other embodiments maybe derived from the teaching of the present invention without deviatingfrom the scope of the claims.

1. An integrated circuit, comprising: a radio frequency (RF) front endoperable, in a first mode, to generate a radio frequency identificationsystem (RFID) outbound radio frequency (RF) signal, to receive an RFIDinbound RF signal responsive to said RFID outbound RF signal and toconvert said RFID inbound RF signal to an RFID near baseband signal, andoperable in a second mode, to generate a transceiver outbound radiofrequency (RF) signal, to receive a transceiver inbound RF signal and toconvert said transceiver inbound RF signal to a transceiver nearbaseband signal; a digitization module operable, in the first mode, toconvert said RFID near baseband signal to an RFID digital basebandsignal, and operable, in a second mode, to convert said transceiver nearbaseband signal to a transceiver digital baseband signal; and a basebandprocessing module operably coupled, in the first mode, to convert saidRFID digital baseband signal into inbound RFID digital data, andoperably coupled, in the second mode, to convert said transceiverdigital baseband signal into inbound transceiver digital data.
 2. Theintegrated circuit of claim 1, wherein said baseband processing moduleincludes an RFID baseband processing module operable in the first modeand a transceiver baseband processing module operable in the secondmode.
 3. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein said RF front endincludes an RFID RF front end operable in the first mode and atransceiver RF front end operable in the second mode.
 4. The integratedcircuit of claim 1, further comprising: a memory operable to store saidinbound RFID digital data and said inbound transceiver digital data. 5.The integrated circuit of claim 4, wherein said baseband processingmodule is operably coupled, in the first mode, to convert outbound RFIDdigital data into an outbound RFID digital baseband signal, and operablycoupled, in the second mode, to convert outbound transceiver digitaldata into an outbound transceiver digital baseband signal, saiddigitization module is operable, in the first mode, to convert saidoutbound RFID digital baseband signal into an outbound RFID nearbaseband signal, and operable, in the second mode, to convert saidoutbound transceiver digital baseband signal into an outboundtransceiver near baseband signal, said RF front end is operable, in thefirst mode, to convert said outbound RFID near baseband signal into saidRFID outbound RF signal, and operable, in the second mode, to convertsaid outbound transceiver near baseband signal into said transceiveroutbound RF signal, and wherein said memory is operable to store saidoutbound RFID digital data and said outbound transceiver digital data.6. The integrated circuit of claim 4, further comprising: a hostprocessing module operably coupled to receive said inbound RFID digitaldata and said inbound transceiver digital data from said basebandprocessing module and store said inbound RFID digital data and saidinbound transceiver digital data in said memory.
 7. The integratedcircuit of claim 6, wherein said baseband processing module furtherincludes an RFID baseband processing module operable in the first modeand a transceiver baseband processing module operable in the secondmode, and wherein said host processing module is further operable toprovide said inbound RFID digital data to said transceiver basebandprocessing module from said memory.
 8. The integrated circuit of claim7, wherein said host processing module is further operable to providesaid inbound transceiver digital data to said RFID baseband processingmodule from said memory.
 9. The integrated circuit of claim 7, furthercomprising: a bus arbiter operably coupled to said host processingmodule, said memory, said transceiver baseband processing module andsaid RFID baseband processing module to facilitate access to saidmemory.
 10. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein: said RF frontend additionally includes: a low noise amplifier operably coupled, inthe first mode, to amplify said RFID inbound RF signal to produce anRFID amplified inbound RF signal, and operably coupled in the secondmode, to amplify said transceiver inbound RF signal to produce anamplified transceiver inbound RF signal, and a down-conversion moduleoperably coupled, in the first mode, to convert said RFID amplifiedinbound RF signal to said RFID near baseband signal, and operablycoupled in the second mode, to convert said transceiver amplifiedinbound RF signal to said transceiver near baseband signal.
 11. Theintegrated circuit of claim 10, wherein: said RFID RF front endadditionally includes: an up-conversion module operably coupled, in thefirst mode, to convert an RFID near baseband analog signal to said RFIDoutbound RF signal, and operably coupled in the second mode to convert atransceiver near baseband analog signal to said transceiver outbound RFsignal, and a power amplifier operably coupled, in the first mode, toamplify said RFID outbound RF signal to produce an RFID amplifiedoutbound RF signal, and operably coupled in the second mode to amplifysaid transceiver outbound RF signal to produce a transceiver amplifiedoutbound RF signal.
 12. The integrated circuit of claim 11, furthercomprising: a digital-to-analog converter operably coupled, in the firstmode, to convert RFID outbound digital data to said RFID near basebandanalog signal, and operably coupled in the second mode, to converttransceiver outbound digital data to said transceiver near basebandanalog signal.
 13. The integrated circuit of claim 12, wherein saiddigital-to-analog converter includes an RFID digital-to-analog converteroperable in the first mode and a transceiver digital-to-analog converteroperable in the second mode.
 14. The integrated circuit of claim 12,wherein said baseband processing module includes an RFID basebandprocessing module in the first mode and a transceiver basebandprocessing module operable in the second mode, and wherein said RFIDbaseband processing module and said transceiver baseband processingmodule are operably coupled to said digital-to-analog converter via amultiplexer.
 15. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein saidbaseband processing module includes an RFID baseband processing modulein the first mode and a transceiver baseband processing module operablein the second mode, and wherein said RFID baseband processing module andsaid transceiver baseband processing module are operably coupled to saiddigitization module via a multiplexer.
 16. The integrated circuit ofclaim 1, further comprising: an antenna operably coupled to said RFfront end and operable in the first mode to transmit the RFID outboundRF signal and receive the RFID inbound RF signal and in the second modeto transmit the transceiver outbound RF signal and receive thetransceiver inbound RF signal.
 17. The integrated circuit of claim 1,wherein said RFID outbound RF signal is a modulated RF signal during afirst time period and an unmodulated continuous wave RF signal during asecond time period.
 18. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein saidbaseband processing module is programmed with multiple RFID protocols,and wherein said baseband processing module converts said RFID basebanddigital signal into said inbound RFID digital data using a select one ofsaid protocols.
 19. The integrated circuit of claim 1, furthercomprising: a frequency synthesizer operable to produce a signal atmultiple frequencies and operably coupled to said RF front end toprovide said signal at a select one of said multiple frequencies. 20.The integrated circuit of claim 19, wherein said RF front end furtherincludes an RFID front end operable in the first mode and a transceiverfront end operable in the second mode, and wherein said frequencysynthesizer is operably coupled to said RFID RF front end to generatesaid RFID outbound RF signal at one of said multiple frequencies andoperably coupled to said transceiver front end to generate saidtransceiver outbound RF signal at another of said multiple frequencies.21. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein said digitization moduleincludes an RFID digitization module operable in the first mode and atransceiver digitization module operable in the second mode.
 22. Theintegrated circuit of claim 21, wherein said RFID digitization module isa limiter.